Board Approved (9 page)

“John and I are really looking forward to having you
guys over tomorrow,” Elizabeth said, resting her hand on Tessa’s shoulder.
 
“It will be a good time.”
 

“Thank you,” Tessa replied, starting to walk towards
the classroom door.
 
“It was sweet of you
guys to invite us.”

“Ha!
 
As if
we’d pass up the opportunity to meet the girl that got under Greg’s skin,” she
said, holding the door of the classroom open for Tessa.
 
“I can’t tell you how happy I am that he’s
found someone that puts such a huge smile on his face.
 
He deserves it.”
 

“Well, it was a pleasure to meet you early,
Elizabeth,” Tessa said, standing at the doorway of the gym.
 
“I will be so much more comfortable now
heading your way tomorrow.
 
Thank you for
introducing yourself.
 
I appreciate
it.”
 

“Absolutely.
 
Thanks for such a great class.
 
I’ll be down here twice a week for sure
now.
 
I didn’t know what I was missing,”
Elizabeth said.
 
“See you tomorrow.”
 
She threw an arm around Tessa and gave her a
quick squeeze before disappearing in the women’s locker room.

Tessa wandered out of the building and to her VW Bug
in the parking lot.
 
She hadn’t had a
single issue with her car since Greg had it fixed.
 
In fact, it seemed to be even better on gas
mileage and all the squeaks and squeals were non-existent now.
 
She probably owed Greg more than the car was
worth given the fact it was a 1998 model, but she did love it, even more so
now.
 
That darn car was the reason she
met him.

She loaded her things in her car and headed out
towards Treasure Island and her studio.
 
About halfway there, her phone started buzzing.
 
She picked it up and saw Greg’s name on the
screen.
 

“Hey,” she said, answering the phone.
 

“Hey yourself,” he replied.
 
“I just got a phone call from Elizabeth.
 
She said she ambushed you in yoga today and I
wanted to make sure you were alright.”
 
The concern in his voice warmed her.
 
He really did care about her.
 
She
couldn’t remember the last time she felt like anyone really cared about
her.
 
Her mother only cared whether she
had a few bucks for the next bottle of gin.
 

“I’m fine,” Tessa said with a laugh.
 
“I wouldn’t necessarily call it an
ambush.”
 
She cruised down First Avenue
North.
 
For whatever reason, traffic was
relatively light.

“Elizabeth is really sweet,” Greg said.
 
“But she can also be a little overwhelming.”

“She caught me off guard, but she was great.
 
I’m actually glad I got to meet her.
 
It takes a little of the edge off of tomorrow
night.”
 

“I’m sorry about that,” he said softly.
 
“I wouldn’t bombard you with my friends this
soon if it weren’t for the fact that neither of them will take no for an
answer.”
 

“Don’t worry about it,” Tessa replied.
 
“I’m glad you have such good friends.”

“They will love you, Tessa,” he said.
 
The tone of his voice showed that he knew
what her concern was.
 
How did he know
her so well already?
 
“How could they not
love you?
 
I do.”
 
She felt her eyes grow large as she came to a
stop at the red light before the bridge.
 
The same spot that Greg first kissed her.
 
The same spot where he just said that he
loved her.
 
What the flip is with this red light?
 
Did he just say that?
 
Did he just
say he loved her?
 
She sat there
speechless.

“Tessa?
 
Tessa, you still there?” she heard Greg
say.
 

“Uh, yes.
 
Yeah,” she replied.

“Where’d you go?
 
I thought the call dropped, except I could hear your radio.
 
I asked you about dinner tonight and got no
response.
 
You okay?” He sounded
completely oblivious to the bomb he dropped a couple minutes ago.

“Yeah.
 
Yeah, I’m great,” she said.
 
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t
wipe the ridiculous grin off her face.
 
“Dinner would be wonderful.”

“Great.
 
I’ll
pick you up at seven,” he said.
 
“Gotta run.
 
Have a
conference call with a big client in five minutes, but I had to make sure
Elizabeth didn’t have you running for the hills.”

“We’re in Florida, Greg.
 
There are no hills.”
 
She heard him laugh a big laugh.
 

“Very true.
 
Nonetheless, I’m glad you’re still here,” he
said.
 
She could hear the smile in his
voice.
 
“I can’t wait to see you later.”

“Me too,” she said as she pulled into the parking
lot of her yoga studio.
 

Chapter
Nine

“They live here?” Tessa asked as Greg pulled his BMW
into the driveway into John Dorsey’s beach house on Pass-a-Grille beach.
 
It was a three-story Spanish style house with
multiple floor to ceiling windows and a tiled roof.

“John’s been here for a couple years,” Greg said,
putting the car in park.
 
“He built it
himself.
 
Elizabeth has only lived here
for a couple weeks… technically, that is.
 
In fact, I’m not sure all her stuff is even here yet.”
 
He looked over at her in the passenger seat
and winked.
 

Tessa looked adorable.
 
She wore a little black dress and her hair
was pulled back in a knot at the nape of her neck with wisps.
 
With her hair off her neck, Greg had a
difficult time not staring at the elegant length of it.
 
On more than one occasion since picking her
up, he had to convince himself not to lean over and run his tongue along her
skin from her collarbone to that delicate spot just under her ear.
 
Quite honestly, he could not get enough of
her.
 

They had dinner last night at a sophisticated
restaurant up the coast on Madeira Beach.
 
He stayed the night at her place because she had class in the morning
and refused to drive his BMW.
 
But that
was fine.
 
He didn’t really care where
they stayed so long as he could spend the night making love to her and waking
up next to her in the morning to make love to her again.
 
Those few days they had stayed at their own
places had been excruciating.
 
Greg knew
they hadn’t known each other long, but he wanted to spend every moment he could
with this woman.

“Your expression is even more hysterical than when
you first saw where I lived,” Greg said, leaning over the console and kissing
her cheek.
 
“Let’s go.
 
Elizabeth is sure to be awaiting our
arrival.”
 

“I can’t believe how far out of my element I am
here,” she said quietly.
 
Her gaze raised
to his and
he
saw worry in her eyes.

“What is it, Tessa?” he asked.
 
He held her chin between his forefinger and
thumb.

“We’re from different worlds,” she said softly.
 
He could see the tears welling up in her
eyes.
 

“What makes you say that?”
 
He scanned her face.
 
The beat of his heart increased as he wasn’t
sure where this conversation was headed.
 
A tear escaped her eye and ran down the side of her face.
 
He leaned forward and kissed it away.

“Look at this place.
 
I have no fantasy that this is the kind of place I’d ever live.
 
I’m a yoga instructor, for flipping
sake.
 
Look at where you live!
 
Not to mention the fact that I’m twenty-seven
and well…you’re not.
 
We’re just on
different planets.”
 

“Tessa, I will move to whatever planet you want to
live on.
 
I don’t care where we are.”
 
He felt himself start to panic.
 
After his divorce from Nicole, he buried
himself in his work.
 
He didn’t know if
he’d ever really put himself back out there… until he met Tessa.
 
She put a chink in his armored heart and now
he feared she was about to end it all.

“You’re too good for me,” she said, looking him in
the eyes.
 
“I’m an only child, who has no
idea who her father is.
 
I’ve never met
him.
 
And my mother is an alcoholic of
epic proportions.
 
I’ve taken care of her
for years despite the fact that she has stolen from me, beat me down both
physically and emotionally.
 
I’m finally
on my own and making a go of my life.
 
I
can’t afford to fall head over heels in love with you only to have my heart
shattered.
 
I can’t do it, Greg.
 
This whole relationship is going to blow up
in our faces.”
 
He had known there was
something in her that was broken.
 
And now
that he knew what put those insecurities in her head, he promised himself he
would not stop until she felt completely secure in his love for her.

“You know what, Tessa,” he said.
 
“You’re right.
 
This may blow up in our faces.
 
It may.
 
But then again, I think I’m more likely to change your name.”
 
Her eyes grew round as saucers.
 
She looked like a doe in headlights.

“What are you saying?” she asked.
 
He could hear the quiver in her voice.
 
He took her hands in his and brought them to
his lips, pressing little kisses over them.

“I’m saying I’m going to marry you,” he said,
watching her reaction carefully.
 
“I’m
saying I want to give you my name.
 
I
want to take care of you.
 
I want to
laugh with you, cry with you.
 
I want to
love you.
 
I
 
 
most
definitely want to make love to you over and over again.
 
I know that we have only known each other for
a very short time, but the minute I saw you, my heart opened up again.
 
So, please don’t break up with me.
 
Please give this… give us a chance.”

“Oh. God,” she said, tears streaming down her
face.
 
He gripped the back of her head
and pulled her closer to him.
 
Leaning
his forehead against hers, he looked deep into her eyes.

“Please give me a chance,” he pleaded.
 

“Yes.
 
Yes.
 
Yes!” she said through her
tears and pressed her lips against his.
 
Her hands came up and cupped his face as she deepened the kiss.
 
The feel and taste of her tongue surging into
his mouth made him moan in hunger and he wished they were anywhere but sitting
in the driveway of his good friends’ house because he wanted more than anything
to make love to her right now.

“Hey!
 
Are you
going to come in for dinner or are you going to spend the evening making out in
my driveway?” he heard Dorsey say as he banged on the driver’s side
window.
 

“Oh flip,” Tessa said, ducking her head in
embarrassment.
 

“I told you we should have gone in right away,” he
said, placing a kiss on her nose.
 
“These
two can’t keep their nose out of my business.”
 
He heard her giggle.
 
Greg rolled
down his window just a crack.
 
“Get your
ass back into your house.
 
We’ll be in in
a minute.
 
You need to work on your
patience.”

“Ha-ha!
 
Elizabeth wanted me to come out here the second you pulled in the
driveway.
 
Consider yourself lucky you
got the minutes you did,” John said over his shoulder as he turned and walked
back towards his front door.